The first annual General Manager Award will indeed see the light of day this year.

You may remember this was Brian Burke’s idea a few years back and, finally, after careful vetting at the proper levels, the award is a go, a source told ESPN.com Saturday. Always made sense to me; if there’s a Jack Adams Award for coach of the year, why not a GM Award?

All 30 GMs had a ballot sent to them over the past week. It’s not clear at this point, but other people may also vote on it. What’s also not clear is when the award will be presented, whether it’ll be with the other awards in Las Vegas on June 23 or at a separate function.

But one thing’s for sure: There will be a GM Award for this season.

Who do you think should win it, then? Do you judge it by wins alone or just look at what that general manager had to work with in a given season? My inkling would be to consider someone like Vancouver’s Mike Gillis, but then again, Brian Burke is the guy who drafted the Sedin twins and Dave Nonis traded for Roberto Luongo.

It might be weird to reward a GM when most of those results are part of a multi-year process, but I love the idea of the award. More on that as the information leaks out.

If this award is NOT won by Don Maloney of the Coyotes,
then it isn’t worth creating,
Don

WRONG - May 2, 2010 at 9:46 AM

what the Coyotes did was so impressive because their complete lack of talent. Rather, I give the credit to coach Tippet.
The GM of the year award must go to Lou Lamorello assuming it only takes reg season into account.
Maybe Boston for getting second overall pick while still putting a team on the ice that has a legitimate chance at a stanley cup, especially coupled with the emergence of Rask (who he drafted) and the extension given to Savard
What about the Kings? Developed a ton of talent down there.
I am not sure whether to reward a great deadline trade (a la Stempniak) or accumulating talent.
Maybe Colorado? Pretty quick rebuild
Last one to consider–Sharks. Dont overlook how impressive their run of regular season dominance has been, and the GM has obviously accumulated tons of talent

GovtMinion - May 2, 2010 at 10:00 AM

I’d have to lean towards Chiarelli in Boston. He knew Kessel as leaving at some point soon anyway whether he liked it or not, and managed to fleece Toronto for some very good draft picks out of the deal. Kessel is going to be the focal point of Toronto’s rebuilding for a long time to come, but kudos to the Bruins for finding a way to get an amazing return on a disgruntled player.

The Royal Half - May 2, 2010 at 11:43 AM

Doesn’t the NHL already have this award? I’m pretty sure it’s called the Stanley Cup, no?

Lee - May 9, 2010 at 4:15 PM

Is there an actual name for the award other than NHL General Manager of the Year? And Maloney deserves it for making a hopeless team a playoff contender with a limited budget.